The leader of the Democratic majority in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, laid the foundations on Wednesday for a debate in the Upper House on the right to vote in the country, although it will be difficult to overcome the fierce opposition Republican to an electoral reform.
A day after the president of the United States, Joe Biden, urged his party to "protect democracy" In the face of mounting voting restrictions passed at the state level, Democrats began to move chips on the issue in the Senate.
In a letter sent to his colleagues, Schumer announced that he has found a way to circumvent the blockade that Republicans have imposed until now on any debate in the full Senate on two bills designed to strengthen the right to vote at the national level.
"The Senate will finally debate the legislation on the right to vote, and then each senator will have to decide whether to pass that legislation to protect our democracy."wrote the Democratic leader, according to the letter obtained by various media.
To avoid the requirement of 60 votes in favor necessary to start the debate on a measure, the Lower House – with a Democratic majority – will amend a different bill this week, which has to do with NASA, to add the text of one of the electoral reform proposals.
By using this mechanism, the Democrats – who control 50 seats in the Senate – will only need a simple majority of 51 votes to initiate the debate on the issue, although to approve it they would need the support of 60 senators, something that Schumer himself acknowledged that "it will not happen".
The alternative, backed by Biden, is to change the Senate rules to get the electoral reform passed by a simple majority, with the votes of Democratic senators and the runoff of Vice President Kamala Harris, who heads the chamber.
According to Schumer, the debate on electoral reform could be followed by an attempt to change those norms, although this will require absolute unity in the Democratic ranks, and at least two senators have expressed doubts about it.
To advance that goal, Biden will meet this Thursday afternoon with Democratic senators to try to convince them that it is "urgent" change the Senate rules to approve an electoral reform, according to the White House.
The reason for this urgency is that, according to the Democrats, the Republican Party is preparing the ground at the state level to make it difficult to vote in the next election cycles and, potentially, turn around a result that does not favor them in the legislatures of this year and the presidential elections of 2024.
Biden’s request to change the Senate rules has angered the Republican leader in that chamber, Mitch McConnell, who in a speech on Wednesday accused him of behaving in an inappropriate way. "little presidential" and of not being "at the height of his position".
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